"Interesting?"
The merchant repeated the word with a look that suggested he wasn't sure he'd heard correctly.
Clad turned toward Master Aldous, his voice sharp. "Master... this child's life is on the line."
The merchant didn't hesitate. "John — heal him."
"Yes, My Lord." John stepped forward.
Then —
"Stop."
Master Aldous's voice was calm. But it carried a weight that stopped feet before the mind could catch up.
John stopped. Everyone stopped.
"Listen to me first."
Silence fell over the room. Only the boy's sounds remained — the whimpering, the short broken breaths, the quiet noises of pain that simply wouldn't stop.
Master Aldous spoke slowly. "This boy is regenerating on his own. If he is healed right now..." He paused. "You all know the difference between regeneration and healing. Outside magic introduced at this stage will only make his condition worse."
The room stayed quiet.
Then a smile crept onto the old man's face — the kind that hid itself inside a white beard and didn't announce itself.
"Don't misunderstand me," he said. "But this is a very... interesting situation."
"Interesting how, Master?" Clad asked carefully, his eyes still on the boy.
"This child is using an ability without having awakened."
"We already know that," Clad said the moment the sentence ended.
"Yes." Master Aldous didn't look bothered. "You're all smart enough for that much. But that's not the point."
Jorald and the merchant looked at each other.
"What do you mean?" the merchant asked.
Master Aldous stroked his beard slowly and sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes on the boy.
"Somehow, this child has taken on a separate ability. But the reason for it..." He stopped.
Silence.
"What reason, Master?"
The same man who moments ago had filled this room with quiet authority was now leaning forward like a student, hanging on every word.
Master Aldous took a long breath. "Someone pushed this child's body beyond its limit," he said. "Broke him so badly, injured him so completely, that his body began regenerating on its own just to survive."
A pause.
"But isn't that what awakening is?" the merchant asked.
"Yes, yes, I understand what you mean. But this is not his awakened ability."
"How is that possible?" Jorald asked. "The ability a person awakens on their own — that is their talent. That is the rule."
"That is exactly what I cannot make sense of," Master Aldous said.
"What do you mean, Master?" The merchant leaned forward slightly.
Their conversation had long since left the rest of the room behind. The servants understood none of it. Neither did Leo. Arthur stood in the corner, quiet, listening carefully, Leo beside him.
Master Aldous glanced around. "Don't just stand there. Sit down."
Jorald and the merchant sat. Arthur shifted his back against the wall and stayed where he was. John took a quiet step back, standing to the side like an obedient disciple. Clad remained exactly where he was — close to the boy.
"You all know how an awakened ability works," Master Aldous began. "Whether elemental type or physical type."
Jorald nodded. "Through the energy field."
"Correct. But I'm not asking where the energy comes from. I'm asking how it moves."
"We channel energy through the heart and veins," Clad said. "Building a path for it."
"Exactly." Master Aldous's eyes settled. "But this boy's veins have been destroyed. The flow of energy through normal channels is nearly impossible for him."
A pause.
"And yet — he is using energy without veins."
He let that sit.
"And his body's parts are returning to their proper place on their own. As if his body already knows what it's supposed to look like. As if it's simply returning to its original state."
He went quiet for a moment.
"That is why we cannot call this a normal ability. This is something else entirely." A beat. "How it activated, or what is truly behind it — that cannot be answered without first knowing who this child is."
---
Then the boy's whimpering began to fade.
Slowly. Gradually.
His breathing, which had been short and broken until now, grew slightly deeper. More settled. The pain was still there — a quiet, low sound still escaped him every few seconds.
But —
His eyes were open.
---
**[Chapter 9 — End]**